Mitt

ABSTRACT

A disposable mitt for applying polishing material, such as high quality shoe shine material, or the like, having a first sheet of buffing material which is attached, for example, by glue or stitching to a second sheet of material, to which the opposite side is attached, for example, by gluing, a multiplicity of microcapsules each containing a high quality lanolinized wax or liquid shoe shine material. A third sheet of material is removably attached to the side of the second sheet opposite the side to which the first sheet is glued so as to form a closed pocket which protects the shoe shine material in the microcapsules. To shine a pair of shoes with such a mitt, the shoe shine material is rubbed over the shoe surface by a hand placed between the first and second sheets to break the microcapsules and distribute the shoe shine material which seeps through the third sheet. Next, the mitt is reversed on the hand and the sheet of buffing material rubbed over the shoe to complete the shine.

United States Patent 1191 Miller 1 [s41 MITT [75] Inventor: Hobson F. Miller, New York, N.Y.

73 Assignee: United States Banknote Corporation,

New York, NY.

[22] Filed: Dec. 14, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 207,782

[52] US. Cl 401/7, 15/104,94, 401/132 [51] Int. Cl; A461) 5/04 [58] Field 01 Search 401/7, 132; 15/10494- [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,608,708 9/1971 Storandt 206/46 R 3,647,305 3/1972 Baker et al. I 401/7 3,486,504 12/1969 Austin... 401/132 X 2,790,982 5/1957 Schneider.. 401/7 2,044,428 6/1936 Gilmel' 401/7 X 3,472,675 10/1969 Gordon et al 401/132 x 1451 Apr. 23, 1974 Primary Examiner-Lawrence Charles Attorney, Agent, or Firm -Cushman, Darby & Cushman s7] i t ABSTRACT A disposable mitt for applying poiishing material, such as high quality shoe shine material, or the like, having a first sheet of buffing material which is attached, for example, by glue or stitching to a second sheet of material, to which the opposite side is attached, for ex- I ample, by gluing, a multiplicity of microcapsules each containing a high quality lanolinized wax or liquid shoe shine material. A third sheet of material is removably attached to the side of the second sheet opposite the side to which the first sheet is glued so as to form a closed pocket which protects the shoe shine material in the microcapsul'es. To shinea pair of shoes with such a mitt, the shoe shine material is rubbed over the shoe surface by a hand placed between'the first and second sheets to break themicrocapsules and I distribute the shoe shine material which seeps through the third sheet. Next, the mitt is reversed on the hand and the sheet of buffing material rubbed over the shoe to complete the shine.

4'Cla1ms, 3 Drawing; Figures MITT . DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a disposable mitt for shining shoes and a method of shining shoes.

Many shoes on the market today must be periodically shined in order to maintain a glossy appearance with a uniform color. The usual way of carrying out this chore is by first applying, with an applicator, brush, or the like, a paste or liquid shoe polish, and then buffing the shoe with a cloth. Keeping on hand a fresh supply of shoe polish and satisfactory cloths and applicators for this task is one of the minor nuisances of modern life. The inevitable soiling of hands and other immediate objects with the shoepolish is also annoying. In order to eliminate the unpleasantries of this task, disposable shoe shine mitts have been developed and one such No. 2,790,982. In this patent, in particular, an applicator is providedwith three layers of material and a large capsule of shoe shine polish trapped between one of the a and apparatus are further disclosed and claimed in a co-pending application Ser. No. 207,946 entitled Method and Apparatus for Forming Mitts" by David H. Eberly, Jr., filedherewith, the disclosure of which is explicitly incorporated herein by reference. According to this method the spongy masses are deposited on the sheet in fluid form asa foam and then subsequently dried or can be removed from a roll of material having the spongy masses removably glued onto a substrate.

Alternately, microcapsules each containing the shoe shine material can be deposited onto and attached to mitt is shown, for example, in the Schneider U.S. .Pat.

plying the shoe shine polish and a separate sheet of suitablebuffing material for buffing the shoes after. appli cation of the polish in the conventional manner. Ac cordingly, the shine possible with the applicator alone has been of considerably lower quality than that which ispossible by the conventional techniques described above. Another difficulty is that previously the mitts have not been produced economically and quickly enough to permit them to be priced in the marketplace so as to be a truly attractive product for general use. The present invention relates to a mitt which is comprised of a first sheet of silicone-impregnated buffing material which is glued, or otherwise attached, to a second sheet ofr'naterial to which is attached a multiplicity of microcapsules .or other material containing a high quality shoe shine material, preferably in liquid form or lanolinized waxes. The use of lacquer impregnated pads can bedamaging to shoes. A third sheet of material is glued or otherwise attached to the side of the second'sheet opposite the side to which the first sheet is glued so as to form a closed pocket which contains the spongy mass or microcapsules and which protects the shoe shine material. When using microcapsules, the

; third sheet need not be removed to expose the microcapsules, and the third sheet itself can be rubbed over the surface of the shoe so as to rupture the microcapsules and deposit the shoe shine material on the surface of the shoe while retaining the shells away from the shoe. The mitt can next be reversed on the hand and the shoe buffed with the sheet of buffer material. When using a spongy mass, the third sheet is preferably removed before use. Using this mitt and technique, an excellent shine which is comparable in quality to shines obtainable with the conventional technique described above is possible. i

Such a mitt can beformed by an apparatus and according to a method whereby the spongy masses of maously moving sheet of the second material. This method terial are formed at discrete intervals onto a continuthe sheet at discrete intervals. A pattern of glue can then be deposited at discrete separated locations onto a continuously moving sheet of the firstmaterial, preferably by a roller, and the first and second sheets then pressed together to form pockets eachhavin'g an open end between. the sheets. A suitable pattern of glue is similarly disposed'at separated intervals on a continuously moving sheet of the third material, and then the third sheet is pressed atop the secondsheet so that each pattern of glue on the third sheet defines a closed pocket which contains a sponge mass impregnatedwith shoe shine liquid or a mass of microcapsules. The continuously moving sheets can then be cut to form disposable mitts of the type described above.

Many other objects and purposes of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description of the drawings. a g

. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows atop view of one of the mitts of this invention. I

FIG. 2 shows a side cutaway view of the mitt of FIG. 1 along the lines 2-2.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the mitt of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the top sheet sealing the microcapsules in a closed pocket being removed.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2v and 3, a mitt is shown which is comprised of a first sheet 20, a multiplicity of microcapsules 22 each having shoe shine polish or other ma.- terial in it and attached to sheet 20 by any' suitable means such as glue, a second sheet of buffing material 24 which is glued to sheet 20 by a horseshoe-shaped pattern of glue 26 so as to leave an open end into which the fingers can be inserted, and a third sheet 28. which is glued to the second sheet by a straight line, heartshaped glue pattern 30 so as to form apocket which encloses microcapsules 22 or other material between 1 -3 can be employed is by first removing sheet 28 to expose the material 22, as shown in FIG. 3. Sheet 28 is preferably not removed as discussed above when microcapsules are used. By inserting the fingers into the open pocket between sheets 20 and 24, the shoe shine and microcapsules 22 can be applied and rubbed over the shoes without in any way soiling the fingers or applying the shoe shine polish to any other object. After a suitable amount of the shoe polish has been applied, v a

the mitt can be reversed on the hand so that the palm 3 faces sheet 24 and buffing sheet 24 can then be used to buff the shoes in conventional fashion resulting in a highly satisfactory shine Many changes and modifications in the above embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Particularly,

while the mitt of this invention is particularly effective for shining shoes, it can also be used for other purposes,

such as applying sun tan lotion, removing fingernail and other polish, etc. Accordingly, that scope is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A disposable mitt for applying and buffing liquid material comprising:

a first sheet of buffing material,

' a second sheet of material substantially impervious to said liquid material and having one side glued to one side of said first sheet so as to form a glove for receiving at least some of the fingers of a hand,

a mass of said liquid material attached to the side of said second sheet away from said. one side, and a third sheet of applicator material permeable to said liquid material, and glued .to said side of said second sheet away from said one side so as to form a closed pocket containing said liquid material, so that rubbing said side of said third sheet away from said pocket liberates with liquid material which permeates through said third sheet onto the surface being rubbed. 2. A mitt as in claim 1 wherein said first sheet is impregnated with a silicone material.

3. A mitt as in claim 1 wherein said liquid material is shoe shining material.

4. A mitt as in claim 1 including a multiplicity of microcapsules attached to said side of said second sheet away from said one side, and each containing someof said liquid material. 

1. A disposable mitt for applying and buffing liquid material comprising: a first sheet of buffing material, a second sheet of material substantially impervious to said liquid material and having one side glued to one side of said first sheet so as to form a glove for receiving at least some of the fingers of a hand, a mass of said liquid material attached to the side of said second sheet away from said one side, and a third sheet of applicator material permeable to said liquid material, and glued to said side of said second sheet away from said one side so as to form a closed pocket containing said liquid material, so that rubbing said side of said third sheet away from said pocket liberates with liquid material which permeates through said third sheet onto the surface being rubbed.
 2. A mitt as in claim 1 wherein said first sheet is impregnated with a silicone material.
 3. A mitt as in claim 1 wherein said liquid material is shoe shining material.
 4. A mitt as in claim 1 including a multiplicity of microcapsules attached to said side of said second sheet away from said one side, and each containing some of said liquid material. 